Nursing home residents with advanced dementia typically need help with eating. Lack of positive person-to-person interaction, a critical component of the feeding/eating process, can contribute to residents' weight loss and/or dehydration. Although evidence supports the importance of mealtime interactions, approaches for measuring and ultimately coaching caregiver desired behaviors are scarce. Based on literature reviews regarding interaction at mealtimes,two researchers cited the need for a reliable, valid instrument to measure these interactions. This descriptive study explored the appropriateness of Barnard's Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale(NCAFS) as a measure of dyadic interaction between caregivers and demented residents. An adaptation of Barnard and Eyres' (1979) Child Health Assessment Model (CHAM) was the conceptual framework for the study. Residents inclusion criteria were: (a) living in the nursing home; (b) feedings totally provided or assisted by caregivers; (c)ability to communicate through signs, gestures,or sounds, and to usually be understood; (d) adequate corrected vision; (e) some ability to physically move arms/hands; and (f) diagnosis of dementia from degenerative brain disease or stroke. Caregiver criteria were: (a) feed a qualified resident and (b) give signed consent to be observed during the feeding. In two Midwest nursing homes, 38 residents and their 128 caregivers were observed by one certified observer of the NCAFS during 228 regular meals. Internal consistency/reliability coefficients measured by Cronbach's alpha reflect "moderate to good" consistency among the items (Portney & Watkins,2009,p.525). Correlation studies were done between scores from the first and second days of observations. The correlation of caregivers' NCAFS scores showed a moderate relationship (r=.609) but no relationship in contingency scores. Residents' NCAFS scores and contingency scores showed moderate to high correlations (r =.73 and r = .685) indicating a relationship between the two days' scores. Caregivers' and residents' NCAFS scores showed positive correlations. NCAFS' validity and reliability for measurement of feeding interactions in this population could be useful in the assessment and subsequent staff education to improve life for demented nursing home residents.